The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 21: Dark Intentions

Note: If you couldn't tell by now, Aldia is heavily based on Russia when it was still the USSR. That's why the elves speak in Russian.

The reason being that Sasha's character is Russian (Sasha being a Russian name). The only reason she was from Vacuo in the first story was because her design was based off the Gerudo from the Zelda games, and I didn't know the novels existed, so I didn't know if Shade had a Headmaster yet (if he was named in them, still haven't read them.). Vacuo, in my writing, was based more off the Middle East in terms of architecture and the Black Stars.

In the second story, we already had Verde being from Atlas, so it didn't feel right having Sasha come from Mantle or Solitas as a whole. With the third story being in a world I created, I could finally use Sasha's Russian ancestry in full.

...

Rojo's quill stopped when he looked up. A slave was staring at him, her eyes wide. The pervert smirked, ceasing his paperwork. "Need something?"

The slave shook her head, averting her gaze from the monster. "N-no, Master... Th-there are s-strange men asking t-to see you..."

Rojo wasn't expecting visitors. He didn't plan to have any company, either. He waved his hand, picking up his quill and returning to work. "Tell them to fuck off. I'm busy."

"B-but-"

Rojo fired a dangerous smirk in her direction, the whites of his teeth gleaming in the sunlight that sifted through the curtains of his office.

"If you don't do as you're told, you know what'll happen, right?"

The slave trembled, nodding her head. Hurriedly she closed the door, her bare feet slapping against the tiled floor as she ran. She didn't dare to look back. She didn't want to run the risk of meeting his eyes if he decided to watch her leave.

This girl was only eleven years old, and had been abducted from her parents at the age of three. When she turned five, she watched Rojo kill her parents in front of her. And even with that atrocity, it wasn't the worst thing he'd done. She knew first hand what the muscular Cardinal was capable of, and knew it was better to do as she was told. If she did, then the risk of him taking advantage of her decreased. With fear clouding her mind, she pushed her way through the door, meeting the eyes of the hooded men. She bowed her head, fully prepared to be kicked down.

"I-I am very sorry... But Master Rojo does not wish to see visitors..."

The hooded men whispered amongst each other, their faces shrouded under the darkness of their hoods. Until all went silent, when the only one without the hood stepped from the crowd, his smile stretching ear to ear and his calm yellow eyes staring down at her.

"... Oh la la... But it is of utmost importance," Jack cooed softly. The girl shivered as he stepped closer, her back pressing against the wall. Jack knelt down in front of her, flashing something shiny from his pocket. A syringe, filled with a black, viscous tar-like ooze. "... Perhaps a little message should be sent, non?"

Her breath caught in her throat when Jack pressed against her chest, pinning the child to the door. She couldn't fight back when she felt the needle prick her skin, the Blood oozing into her body when he pressed down the button. Jack's smile widened, his yellow eyes flickering with amusement. "Just like mademoiselle Verde, in the Second Timeline..."

The pain was almost instant. The moment Jack released her, the slave's hand clapped over her neck. Her eyes watered, a gagging noise escaping from the depths of her throat when she felt the sour taste building up in the back of her throat.